Method and apparatus for displaying video data and corresponding entertainment data for multiple entertainment selection sources

ABSTRACT

A graphical user interface (GUI) includes a first window that displays video data of a first entertainment selection from a first entertainment selection source. A first area, proximate to the first window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the first entertainment selection. The GUI includes a second window that displays video data of a second entertainment selection from a second entertainment selection source. A second area, proximate to the second window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the second entertainment selection.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of entertainment systems.Specifically, the present invention relates to graphical user interfaces(GUI) in entertainment systems that display video data and entertainmentsystem data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A current trend in the electronics and computer industry is theconvergence of computer systems and more traditional entertainmentsystem components. As this convergence continues, more components inthese systems will be combined together resulting in an increase inentertainment selections and entertainment system data available tousers.

Current mechanisms for storing and providing entertainment system datato users are component specific. For example, programming guides madeavailable by many cable companies provide some entertainment system datarelating to entertainment selections available to the users. Typically,the programming guides provide an on-screen display of programminginformation for channels supported by the cable system. The programmingguides, however, do not store or display entertainment system data fromsources other than the cable company to the user. Thus, for example, ifa user's entertainment system includes a digital satellite system (DSS),a vertical blanking interval (VBI) decoder, a modem, a networkconnection, or a video library, the entertainment system data from theseentertainment selection would not be available to the user on the cablesystem's programming guide.

In addition, the programming guides typically display limitedinformation about an entertainment selection. The information is usuallylimited to the title of the entertainment selection, the time it isbroadcasted, and the channel broadcasting the entertainment selection.The information is typically presented in a static text format.

SUMMARY

A graphical user interface (GUI) is disclosed. The GUI includes a firstwindow that displays video data of a first entertainment selection froma first entertainment selection source. A first area, proximate to thefirst window, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to thefirst entertainment selection. The GUI includes a second window thatdisplays video data of a second entertainment selection from a secondentertainment selection source. A second area, proximate to the secondwindow, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to thesecond entertainment selection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way oflimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the system components of oneembodiment of an entertainment system according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a systemcontroller according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of modules implementing an embodiment of adatabase system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates entertainment system data records stored in adatabase according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a channel scan unit according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface according to a firstembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for managing entertainmentsystem data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating system components of anentertainment system 100 according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The entertainment system includes a common input/output (I/O)bus 110 that connects the system components in the entertainment system100 together. It should be appreciated that the common I/O bus 110 isillustrated to simplify the routing of signals between the computersystem components. The common I/O bus 110 may represent a plurality ofknown mechanisms and techniques for routing I/O signals between thecomputer system components. For example, the common I/O bus 110 mayinclude an appropriate number of independent audio “patch” cables thatrout audio signals, coaxial cables that rout video signals, two-wireserial lines or infrared or radio frequency transceivers that routcontrol signals, or other routing mechanisms that rout other signals.

In the illustrated embodiment, the entertainment system 100 includes atelevision/monitor 121, video recorder/playback device 122, digitalvideo disk (DVD) recorder/playback device 123, audio/video tuner andamplifier 124, audio playback/recorder device 125, and compact diskplayer 126 coupled to the common I/O bus. The video recorder/playbackdevice 122, DVD recorder/playback device 123, audio playback/recorderdevice 125, and compact disk player 126 may be single disk or singlecassette devices, or alternatively may be multiple disk or multiplecassette devices.

In addition, the entertainment system 100 includes a speaker system 131,microphone 132, video camera 133, and a wireless I/O control device 134.In one embodiment, wireless I/O control device 134 is an entertainmentsystem remote control unit, which communicates with the components ofthe entertainment system 100 through IR signals. In another embodiment,wireless I/O control device 134 may be a wireless keyboard andcursor-positioning device that communicates with the components ofentertainment system 100 through IR signals or RF signals. In yetanother embodiment, wireless I/O control device 134 may be an IR remotecontrol device similar in appearance to a typical entertainment systemremote control with the added feature of a track-ball or othernavigational mechanisms which allows a user to position a cursor on adisplay of the entertainment system 100.

The entertainment system 100 also includes a system controller 140.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the systemcontroller 140 operates to store and display entertainment system dataavailable from a plurality of entertainment system data sources.According to another embodiment of the present invention, systemcontroller 140 is configured to control a wide variety of featuresassociated with each of the system components. As shown in FIG. 1,system controller 140 is coupled, either directly or indirectly, to eachof the system components, as necessary, through I/O bus 110. In oneembodiment, in addition to or in place of I/O bus 110, system controller140 is configured with a wireless communication transmitter (ortransceiver), which is capable of communicating with the systemcomponents via IR signals or RF signals 110′. Regardless of the controlmedium, the system controller 140 is configured to control one or moreof the entertainment system components of the entertainment system 100,although it is understood that each of the components may beindividually controlled with wireless I/O control device 134.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, system 100 may be configured to receiveentertainment selections and entertainment system data from variousentertainment selection sources. In one embodiment, entertainment system100 receives entertainment selections and entertainment system data fromany or all of the following sources: cable broadcast 141, satellitebroadcast 142 (e.g., via a satellite dish), very high frequency (VHF) orultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency communication of thebroadcast networks 143 (e.g., via an aerial antenna), telephone/computernetwork broadcast 144, and/or information stored locally at systemcontroller 140 or another component of the entertainment system 100.Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, that cablebroadcast input 141, satellite broadcast input 142 and VHF/UHF input 143may receive input from digital broadcast programming and digital cableprogramming. The cable broadcast input 141, satellite broadcast input142, VHF/UHF broadcast input 143, and telephone/computer networkbroadcast input 144 may be received by the audio/video tuner andamplifier 124, the system controller 140, or other component on theentertainment system 100.

Although the present invention is described in the context of theexemplary embodiments presented in the figures, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the present invention is not limited to theseembodiments and may be practiced in a variety of alternate embodiments.Accordingly, the innovative features of the present invention may bepracticed in a system of greater or lesser complexity than that of thesystem depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a computersystem 200 that may be used to implement the system controller 140according to the present invention. The computer system 200 includes aprocessor 201 that processes data signals. The processor 201 may be acomplex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, a reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instructionwork (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing a combination ofinstruction sets, or other processor device. FIG. 2 shows an example ofthe present invention implemented on a single processor computer system200. However, it is understood that the present invention may beimplemented in a computer system having multiple processors. Theprocessor 201 is coupled to a CPU bus 210, which transmits data signalsbetween processor 201 and other components in the computer system 200.

As an example, memory 213 may be a dynamic random access memory (DRAM)device, a static random access memory (SRAM) device, or other memorydevice. The memory 213 stores data signals that are executed by theprocessor 201. A bridge memory controller 211 is coupled to the CPU bus210 and the memory 213. The bridge memory controller 211 directs datasignals between the processor 201, the memory 213, and other componentsin the computer system 200 and bridges the data signals from thesecomponents to a first I/O bus 220.

The first I/O bus 220 may be a single bus or a combination of multiplebuses. As an example, the first I/O bus 220 maybe a high performance I/Obus that operates at high throughput rates. The first I/O bus 220 mayinclude for example a Peripheral Components Interconnect (PCI) bus, aPersonal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) bus, aNuBus, or other buses. The first I/O bus 220 provides communicationlinks between components in the computer system 200. A networkcontroller 221 is coupled to the first I/O bus 220. The networkcontroller 221 links the computer system 200 to a network of computersand supports communication among the machines. A display devicecontroller 222 is coupled to the first I/O bus 220. The display devicecontroller 222 allows coupling of a display device to the computersystem 200 and acts as an interface between the display device and thecomputer system 200. The display device controller 222 may be amonochrome display adapter (MDA) card, a color graphics adapter (CGA)card, an enhanced graphics adapter (EGA) card, an extended graphicsarray (XGA) card or other display device controller. The display devicemay be a television set, a computer monitor, a flat panel display orother display device. The display device receives data signals from theprocessor 201 through the display device controller 222 and displays theinformation and data signals to the user of the computer system 200.According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display devicemay be implemented by the television/monitor 121 (shown in FIG. 1).

A second I/O bus 230 may be a single bus or a combination of multiplebuses. The second I/O bus 230 may include an Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture(EISA) bus, or other buses. The second I/O bus 230 providescommunication links between components in the computer system 200. Adata storage device 231 is coupled to the second I/O bus 230. The datastorage device 231 may be a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, aCD-ROM device, or other mass storage device. A keyboard interface 232 iscoupled to the second I/O bus 230. The keyboard interface 232 may be akeyboard controller or other keyboard interface. The keyboard interface232 may be a dedicated device or can reside in another device such as abus controller or other controller. The keyboard interface 232 allowscoupling of a keyboard to the computer system 200 and transmits datasignals from a keyboard to the computer system 200. An audio controller233 is coupled to the second I/O bus 230. The second I/O bus 230operates to coordinate the recording and playing of sounds is alsocoupled to the I/O bus 230. A wireless communications interface 234 iscoupled to the second I/O bus 230. The wireless communications interface234 may be an IR transceiver or a RF transceiver for transmitting andreceiving signals between system components of the entertainment system100 (shown in FIG. 1).

A bus bridge 223 couples the first I/O bus 220 to the second I/O bus230. The bus bridge 223 operates to buffer and bridge data signalsbetween the first I/O bus 220 and the second I/O bus 230.

According to one embodiment, configuring a graphical user interface thatdisplays video data and corresponding entertainment system data ofentertainment selections from multiple entertainment selection sourcesconcurrently is performed by the computer system 200 in response to theprocessor 201 executing sequences of instructions contained in thememory 213. Such instructions may be read into the memory 213 from othercomputer-readable mediums such as data storage device 231 or from acomputer connected to the network via the network controller 211.Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the memory 213causes the processor to configure a graphical user interface thatdisplays video data and corresponding entertainment system data ofentertainment selections from multiple entertainment selection sourcesconcurrently, as will be described hereafter. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wire circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement the presentinvention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating modules implementing a databasesystem 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In apreferred embodiment of the present invention, the modules areimplemented in software and reside in main memory 213 (shown in FIG. 2)of the computer system 200 (shown in FIG. 2) as sequences ofinstructions. It should be appreciated that the modules may beimplemented by hardware as components coupled to the bus 220 (shown inFIG. 2) or a combination of both hardware and software. Block 310represents a system control agent that receives entertainment systemdata from multiple sources. The system control agent 310 manages theorganization and retrieval of the entertainment system data in thedatabase 320, and presents the entertainment system data to users. Thesystem control agent 310 includes a data parser 311, data engine 312,and query interface 313.

Entertainment system data may be received by the system control agent310 from a plurality of sources. These sources may include modemtransfer 341, DSS 342, VBI 343, file input stream 344, or other inputstreams 345. Network transfer source 341 provides entertainment systemdata obtained from remote systems via a conventional modem. According toone embodiment of the present invention, the remote systems are webservers accessed via the Internet using a plain old telephone service(POTS) connection, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) line,or other network connection. DSS source 342 provides entertainmentsystem data obtained via a digital broadcast and a digital satellitereceiver. According to one embodiment of the present invention, theentertainment system data is received via a separate digital channel bythe DSS receiver. VBI source 343 provides entertainment system data fromthe vertical blanking interval of a television broadcast. Theentertainment system data is decoded from the VBI of the televisionbroadcast by a VBI decoder. File input stream 344 provides entertainmentsystem data obtained from a computer file. The file may be locatedlocally on the computer system 200 or remotely at another computersystem. The file may contain, for example, a video clip, a movie review,a video game or other application. Other input streams 345 representother conventional sources from which entertainment system data could beobtained. It is to be appreciated that any other conventional mediumcould be used to provide entertainment system data to system controlagent 310, including RF broadcasts, ultrasonic broadcasts, IRbroadcasts, or other broadcasts. It should also be appreciated thatentertainment system data may be provided by the users of theentertainment system 100 (shown in FIG. 1). Entertainment system datamay be obtained from any one or more of the sources 341-345.

Entertainment system data includes data related to entertainmentselections. The entertainment selections may include programs, musicselections, software applications, files, Internet broadcast and otherselections that may be made available to users via the entertainmentsystem 100. Entertainment system data may include information describingan entertainment selection or other information related to theentertainment selection. Examples of entertainment system data includetelevision program information, radio station information,“video-on-demand” program information, laser disc availability, compactdisk availability, DVD availability, CD-ROM availability, VHS or 8 mmtape availability, software application titles, IntercastTM broadcastsinformation, network identifiers such as Uniform Resource Locators(URLs), or other data.

In the illustrated embodiment, entertainment system data received fromeach of the sources 341-345 are in a different, source specific format.Data parser 311 receives the entertainment system data from the sources341-345 and translates the entertainment system data into a unitaryformat. The entertainment system data received from the sources 341-345may include a plurality of information related to an entertainmentselection. The data parser 311 generates a record for data correspondingto each entertainment selection. Within each record, the data parser 311organizes the entertainment system data related to each entertainmentsystem data into traits. Each trait includes an identifier portion thatprovides a generic description of the trait and a data portion thatprovides specific data related to the trait or a location of where thespecific data may be found. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, an identifier portion may be “Title”, “Actors”, “ProgramRating”, “Source of Programming”, or “Time of Broadcast” and the dataportion may be the title of an entertainment selection, actors appearingin the entertainment selection, rating of the entertainment selection,the station where the entertainment selection may be viewed, and thetime the entertainment selection is broadcasted. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the identifier portion may be“Program Theme Song”, “Video Trailer”, “Audio Trailer”, “Images ofCast”, “Program's Home Page”, “Program's Newsgroup”, or “Articles aboutthe Program and Cast” and the data portion may include a location ofwhere the information relating to the identifier may be found. Forexample, the data portion may include a location such as a local addressof a graphics file or an audio file stored in the data storage device232 (shown in FIG. 2) that may be executed. Alternatively, the dataportion may include a location such as an Internet address or an URL ofa web server that includes a file that contains the information listedin the identifier portion.

The data engine 312 receives the entertainment data in the unitaryformat from the data parser 311 and stores the entertainment system datain the database 320. FIG. 4 illustrates entertainment system data recordstored in a database 320 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, database 320 includes multiple records 410, 420, and 430.Each of the records 410, 420, and 430 includes a source identifier 411,421, and 431, respectively. The source identifiers identify sources fromwhich entertainment system data was received to generate the record. Itshould be appreciated that a record may include entertainment systemdata received from one or more sources. Each of the records 410, 420,and 430 are shown to include a plurality of traits. It should beappreciated that each record may include any number of traits. Record410 includes traits 412, 413, and 414. Record 420 includes traits 422,423, and 424. Record 430 includes traits 432, 433, and 434. Each of thetraits includes an identifier portion and a data portion. In analternate embodiment of the present invention, the records 410, 420, and430 do not include source identifiers. Referring back to FIG. 3, itshould be appreciated that the data parser 311 may organize theentertainment system data using any known technique into any knownformat and that the data engine 312 may configure the database 320according to any known format.

The query interface 313 configures a graphical user interface thatallows a user to access the entertainment system data stored in thedatabase 320. According to an embodiment of the present invention, thequery interface 313 presents the entertainment system data stored in thedatabase 320 in text form. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, the query interface 313 presents the entertainmentsystem data stored in the database 320 using multimedia identifiers thatmay include graphical images, animation, audio clips, or othermultimedia identifiers. For example, the query interface 313 may presentthe identifiers of traits of an entertainment selection using themultimedia identifiers and make the multimedia identifiers userselectable. When a graphical image corresponding to an identifier isselected, the query interface 313 retrieves information in the dataportion corresponding to the identifier and presents it to the user.According to an embodiment of the present invention, presenting theinformation to the user may include displaying the information stored inthe data section when the information is specific data related to thetrait. According to another embodiment of the present invention,presenting the information may include using the information in the datasection to locate additional information when the information is alocation. In this embodiment, the multimedia identifier may be a hyperlink to a remote web server or a link to a system component local to thegraphical user interface.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating modules implementing a channelscan unit 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thechannel scan unit 500 generates a graphical user interface that displaysvideo data and entertainment system selection data from a plurality ofentertainment selection sources. In a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the modules are implemented in software and reside inmain memory 213 (shown in FIG. 2) of the computer system 200 (shown inFIG. 2) as sequences of instructions. It should be appreciated that themodules may be implemented by hardware as components coupled to the bus220 (shown in FIG. 2) or a combination of both hardware and software.The channel scan unit 500 includes a channel scan control unit 510. Thechannel scan control unit 510 stores a list created by a user of theentertainment system 100 (shown in FIG. 1). According to an embodimentof the present invention, the list includes a number of specificentertainment selection sources that the user has a preference for. Theentertainment selection sources on the list may include, for example,specific VHF/UHF channels, cable broadcast channels, satellite broadcastchannels, Internet broadcast channels, or other entertainment selectionsources accessible by the entertainment system 100 (shown in FIG. 1).

A database interface unit 520 is coupled to the channel scan controlunit 510. The database interface unit 520 receives the list ofentertainment selection sources from the channel scan control unit 510and obtains entertainment system data corresponding to entertainmentselections broadcasted on the listed entertainment selection sources atthe present time from the database 320 (shown in FIG. 3).

A tuner interface unit 530 is coupled to the channel scan control unit510. The tuner interface unit 530 receives the list of entertainmentselection sources from the channel scan control unit 510 and programsthe audio/video tuner amplifier 124 (shown in FIG. 1) to obtain videodata from the entertainment selection sources. According to anembodiment of the channel scan unit 500, the tuner interface unit 530receives the video data from the entertainment selection sources.

A display interface unit 540 is coupled to the database interface unit520 and the tuner interface unit 530. The display interface unit 540receives the entertainment system data corresponding to theentertainment selections from the database interface unit 520 and thevideo data of the entertainment selections from the interface unit 530.The display interface unit 540 interfaces with the display devicecontroller 222 (shown in FIG. 2) to coordinate the displaying of theentertainment system data with the video data of an entertainmentselection. According to an embodiment of the channel scan unit 500, thedisplay interface unit 540 generates a graphical user interface on adisplay device. The graphical user interface has a first window thatdisplays video data of a first entertainment selection from a firstentertainment selection source. A first area, proximate to the firstwindow, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the firstentertainment selection. A second window on the graphical user interfacedisplays video data of a second entertainment selection from a secondentertainment selection source. A second area, proximate to the secondwindow, displays entertainment system data that corresponds to thesecond entertainment selection.

It should be appreciated that in an embodiment of the channel scan unit500 where the tuner interface unit 530 programs the audio/video tuneramplifier 124 to obtain video data from the entertainment selectionsources without actually obtaining the video data from audio/video tuneramplifier 124, the display interface unit 540 coordinates displaying thevideo data directly with the audio/video tuner amplifier 124. The videodata displayed on the first window and the second window may becontinuous live feed from the entertainment system source, a stillimage, or other video data. The video data may correspond toentertainment selections that will be broadcasted or have already beenbroadcasted.

It should be appreciated that channel scan unit 500 may support othertypes of lists created by the user. For example, instead of listingpreferred entertainment selections, the user may list a preferred actoror actors. In this embodiment of the present invention, the databaseinterface unit 520 obtains the identity of entertainment selectionsources broadcasting the entertainment selections with the actor oractors. The identity of the entertainment sources are transmitted to thetuner interface unit 530, via the channel scan control unit 510. Thetuner interface unit 530 obtains video data of the entertainmentselections. If the entertainment selection source is a component on theentertainment system 100, such as the video recorder/playback device 122(shown in FIG. 1) or the DVD recorder/playback device 123 (shown in FIG.1), the tuner interface 530 may obtain video data corresponding to theentertainment selection from a source other than the component on theentertainment system 100. The display interface unit 540 coordinatesdisplaying the video data of the entertainment selections withentertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selections.

The channel scan control unit 510, the database interface unit 520, thetuner interface unit 530, and the display interface unit 540 may beimplemented using any known circuitry or technique. According to anembodiment of the present invention where the channel scan unit 500 isimplemented in hardware, the channel scan control unit 510, the databaseinterface unit 520, the tuner interface unit 530, and the displayinterface unit 540 all reside on a single semiconductor substrate.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface 600 according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. The graphical user interfaceincludes a plurality of windows 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, and 660.According to an embodiment of the present invention where the list inthe channel scan control unit 510 (shown in FIG. 5) includes a list ofentertainment selection sources that the user prefers, each of thewindows 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, and 660 display video data of anentertainment selection from one of the entertainment selection sources.Each of the plurality of windows 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, and 660includes an area proximate to the window that may be used to displayentertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selection.Window 610 includes a first area 611 and a second area 612. Window 620includes a first area 621 and a second area 622. Window 630 includes afirst area 631 and a second area 632. Window 640 includes a first area641 and a second area 642. Window 650 includes a first area 651 and asecond area 652. Window 660 includes a first area 661 and a second area662. The area proximate to the window may be used to displayentertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selection.The entertainment system data may include a call sign and a channel ofwhere the entertainment selection is broadcasted from, the entertainmentselection title, rating information, time or length of broadcast, orother entertainment system data. The graphical user interface 600 alsoincludes a navigational tool 670, such as a scroll bar, that allows aviewer to prompt the graphical user interface 600 to display additionalwindows that display video data and entertainment system datacorresponding to additional entertainment selections not originallydisplayed on the graphical user interface 600. According to anembodiment of the graphical user interface 600, a user may select one ofthe windows 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, and 660, to watch the entertainmentselection corresponding to the selected window on a full screen of thetelevision/monitor 121 (shown in FIG. 1). According to an alternateembodiment of the present invention, a user may select one of thewindows 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, and 660 to obtain additionalentertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selectioncorresponding to the selected window.

The graphical user interface 600 allows displaying of multiple videoimages concurrently, where each video image corresponds to a differentone of multiple broadcast channels currently available for viewing.Descriptive information relating to the programs currently beingbroadcast on each channel is displayed along with a video image fromthat program. According to an aspect of the graphical user interface600, each of the multiple video images is a current still image, or a“snap shot” of the program being broadcast on the corresponding channel.According to a second aspect of the graphical user interface 600, eachof the multiple video images is taken from real-time broadcast of theprogram from the corresponding channel.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for managing entertainmentsystem data according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step701, the preferences of entertainment selection sources of anentertainment system user are determined. According to an embodiment ofthe present invention, determining the preference of entertainmentselection sources is achieved by referencing a list stored in channelscan control unit.

At step 702, video data corresponding to entertainment selectionsbroadcasted on the entertainment sources is obtained. According to anembodiment of the present invention, obtaining the video datacorresponding to the entertainment selections broadcasted on theentertainment sources is achieved by programming a video tuner to obtainthe video data from the entertainment selection sources.

At step 703, entertainment system data corresponding to theentertainment selections is obtained. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, obtaining the entertainment system data correspondingto the entertainment selections broadcasted on the entertainment sourcesis achieved by accessing a database.

At step 704, video data of a first entertainment selection from a firstentertainment selection source is displayed on a first window.

At step 705, entertainment system data corresponding to the firstentertainment selection in a location proximate to the first window isdisplayed.

At step 706, video data of a second entertainment selection from asecond entertainment selection source is displayed on a second window.

At step 707, entertainment system data corresponding to the secondentertainment selection in a location proximate to the second window isdisplayed.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreferences to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however be evidentthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for presenting entertainment selections,comprising: displaying video data of a first entertainment selection ona first window; displaying entertainment system data corresponding tothe first entertainment selection in a location proximate to the firstwindow; displaying further entertainment system data corresponding tothe first entertainment selection in a second location proximate to thefirst window; displaying video data of a second entertainment selectionfrom the second entertainment selection source on a second window; anddisplaying entertainment system data corresponding to the secondentertainment selection in a location proximate to the second window;and displaying further entertainment system data corresponding to thesecond entertainment selection in a second location proximate to thesecond window; and displaying still further entertainment system dataregarding the entertainment selection corresponding to the respectivewindow upon selection by a user of the first and second windows.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising; determining a user's preferenceof entertainment selection sources; obtaining video data correspondingto entertainment selections broadcasted on the entertainment selectionsources; and obtaining entertainment system data corresponding to theentertainment selections.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein determininga user's preference of entertainment selection sources comprisesreferencing a list of entertainment selection sources stored in thechannel scan control unit.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein obtainingthe video data corresponding to the entertainment selections broadcastedon the entertainment sources comprises programming a video tuner toobtain the video data from the entertainment selection sources.
 5. Themethod of claim 2, wherein obtaining the entertainment system datacorresponding to the entertainment selections broadcasted on theentertainment sources comprises accessing a database of entertainmentselections.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the further entertainmentsystem data corresponding to the first entertainment selection comprisesa title of the first entertainment selection.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the still further entertainment system data corresponding to thefirst entertainment selection comprises a description of the firstentertainment selection.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the stillfurther entertainment system data corresponding to the firstentertainment selection comprises a rating of the first entertainmentselection.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the still furtherentertainment system data corresponding to the first entertainmentselection comprises a critique of the first entertainment selection. 10.The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a full-screendisplay of the entertainment selection corresponding to the respectivewindow upon selection by a user of the first and second windows.
 11. Acomputer-readable medium having stored thereon a sequence ofinstructions, the sequence of instructions including instructions which,when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform:displaying video data of a first entertainment selection on a firstwindow; displaying entertainment system data corresponding to the firstentertainment selection in a location proximate to the first window;displaying further entertainment system data corresponding to the firstentertainment selection in a second location proximate to the firstwindow; displaying video data of a second entertainment selection fromthe second entertainment selection source on a second window; anddisplaying entertainment system data corresponding to the secondentertainment selection in a location proximate to the second window;and displaying further entertainment system data corresponding to thesecond entertainment selection in a second location proximate to thesecond window; and displaying still further entertainment system dataregarding the entertainment selection corresponding to the respectivewindow upon selection by a user of the first and second windows.
 12. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 11, further comprising instructionswhich, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform:determining a user's preference of entertainment selection sources;obtaining video data corresponding to entertainment selectionsbroadcasted on the entertainment selection sources; and obtainingentertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selections.13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein obtaining thevideo data corresponding to the entertainment selections broadcasted onthe entertainment selection sources comprises programming a video tunerto obtain the video data from the entertainment selection sources. 14.The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein obtaining theentertainment system data corresponding to the entertainment selectionsbroadcasted on the entertainment selection sources comprises accessing adatabase of entertainment selections.
 15. A graphical user interface(GUI), comprising: a first window that displays video data of a firstentertainment selection; a first area, proximate to the first window,that displays entertainment system data that corresponds to the firstentertainment selection; a second area, proximate to the first window,that displays further entertainment system data that corresponds to thefirst entertainment selection; a second window that displays video dataof a second entertainment selection; a first area, proximate to thesecond window, that displays entertainment system data that correspondsto the second entertainment selection; and a second area, proximate tothe second window, that displays further entertainment system data thatcorresponds to the second entertainment selection wherein the first andsecond windows comprise selectable multimedia identifiers that can beselected by a user to cause the display of still further entertainmentsystem data regarding the entertainment selection corresponding to therespective window.
 16. The GUI of claim 15, further comprising anavigation tool that allows a user to view additional windows thatdisplay video data of additional entertainment selections not originallydisplayed on the GUI.
 17. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the furtherentertainment system data corresponding to the respective entertainmentselection comprises a title of the respective entertainment selection.18. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the still further entertainment systemdata corresponding to the respective entertainment selection comprises adescription of the respective entertainment selection.
 19. The GUI ofclaim 15, wherein the still further entertainment system datacorresponding to the first program comprises a rating of the respectiveentertainment selection.
 20. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the stillfurther entertainment system data corresponding to the first programcomprises a critique of the respective entertainment selection.
 21. TheGUI of claim 15, wherein the selectable multimedia identifiers canfurther be selected by a user to cause a full-screen display of theentertainment selection corresponding to the respective window.
 22. Achannel scan unit, comprising: a channel scan control unit that stores alist of entertainment selection sources; a database interface, coupledto the channel scan control unit, that receives the list ofentertainment selection sources from the channel scan control unit andobtains entertainment system data that corresponds to entertainmentselections that are broadcasted on the listed entertainment selectionsources; a tuner interface coupled to the channel scan control unit thatreceives the list of entertainment selection sources from the channelscan control unit and obtains video data from the listed entertainmentselection sources; and a display interface coupled to the databaseinterface and the tuner interface that receives the entertainment systemdata and the video data and venerates a graphical user interface thatsimultaneously displays the video data and the entertainment systemdata.
 23. The channel scan unit of claim 22, wherein the channel scancontrol unit, the database interface, the tuner interface and thedisplay interface comprise modules implemented in software resident on amemory of a computer system.
 24. The channel scan unit of claim 22,wherein the tuner interface obtains video data by programming a tuner toobtain video data.
 25. A computer system, comprising: a bus; a processorcoupled to the bus; a display device coupled to the bus; a channel scancontrol unit that stores a list of entertainment selection sources; adatabase interface, coupled to the channel scan control unit, thatreceives the list of entertainment selection sources from the channelscan control unit and obtains entertainment system data that correspondsto entertainment selections that are broadcasted on the listedentertainment selection sources; a tuner interface coupled to thechannel scan control unit that receives the list of entertainmentselection sources from the channel scan control unit and obtains videodata from the listed entertainment selection sources; and a displayinterface coupled to the database interface and the tuner interface thatreceives the entertainment system data and the video data and generatesa graphical user interface that simultaneously displays the video dataand the entertainment system data.
 26. The computer system of claim 25,wherein the channel scan control unit, the database interface, the tunerinterface and the display interface comprise modules implemented insoftware resident on a memory of the computer system.
 27. The channelscan unit of claim 25, wherein the tuner interface obtains video data byprogramming a tuner to obtain video data.
 28. A graphical user interface(GUI), comprising: a first window that displays video data of a firstentertainment selection; a first area, on a first side of the firstwindow, that displays an identification of the source of the firstentertainment selection; a second area, on a second side of the firstwindow, that displays a title of the first entertainment selection; asecond window that displays video data of a second entertainmentselection; a first area, on a first side of the second window, thatdisplays an identification of the source of the second entertainmentselection; and a second area, on a second side of the second window,that displays a title of the second entertainment selection wherein thefirst and second windows comprise selectable multimedia identifiers thatcan be selected by a user to cause the display of descriptiveinformation regarding the entertainment selection corresponding to therespective window.
 29. The GUI of claim 28, further comprising anavigation tool that allows a user to view additional windows thatdisplay video data of additional programs not originally displayed onthe GUI.
 30. The GUI of claim 28, wherein the descriptive informationcomprises at least one of a rating and a critique of the correspondingentertainment selection.
 31. A machine-readable medium having storedthereon data representing sequences of instructions which, when executedby a machine, cause the machine to perform operations to provide achannel scan unit, the sequences comprising: a channel scan control unitthat when executed by the machine, causes the machine to store a list ofentertainment selection sources; a database interface, coupled to thechannel scan control unit that when executed by the machine, causes themachine to receive the list of entertainment selection sources from thechannel scan control unit and obtain entertainment system data thatcorresponds to entertainment selections that are broadcasted on thelisted entertainment selection sources; a tuner interface coupled to thechannel scan control unit that when executed by the machine, causes themachine to receive the list of entertainment selection sources from thechannel scan control unit and obtain video data from the listedentertainment selection sources; and a display interface coupled to thedatabase interface and the tuner interface that when executed by themachine, causes the machine to receive the entertainment system data andthe video data and generate a graphical user interface thatsimultaneously displays the video data and the entertainment systemdata.
 32. The channel scan unit of claim 31, wherein the tuner interfaceobtains video data by programming a tuner to obtain video data.